Kim Soo-min, 23, was crowned as the most beautiful woman in Korea during the 2018 Miss Korea Pageant in Seoul on July 4, 2018. Courtesy of Hankook Ilbo.

Kim Soo-min won the 2018 Miss Korea Pageant held in Seoul, Wednesday, hosted by the Hankook Ilbo, the sister paper of The Korea Times and Hankook Ilbo E&B.The six runners-up were Seo Ye-jin, Song Su-hyun, Kim Kye-ryung, Bak Che-won, Lee Yun-ji and Lim Kyeong-min. Kim Soo-min will receive 100 million won ($90,000) in prize money, while the first runners-ups will get 30 million won and second runners-up, 20 million won.The final, with 32 contestants, was broadcast live on MBC Every1 and MBC Music, with former Miss Korea, actress Kim Sung-ryung, heading the judge panel. Yura of K-pop girl band Girl's Day and comedian Park Soo-hong were MCs. The pageant kicked off with regional preliminaries April 7. The 50 finalists from these were reduced to the 32 who passed appearance and personality tests to make the final. Hankook Ilbo E&B will manage the seven winners' careers for the next two years.